Drought could result in unprecedented pumping restrictions

By Scott Huddleston |
August 6, 2014
| Updated: August 6, 2014 9:57pm

The rapidly falling Edwards Aquifer reached a critical low point Wednesday that will likely mandate an unprecedented 40 percent cut in pumping by early next week.

The aquifer's J-17 monitoring well in Bexar County stood at 629.6 feet above sea level, a condition that can trigger Stage IV of the Edwards Aquifer Authority's critical period plan.

If the aquifer remains at 630 feet or below, - which is likely, given the hot, dry short-term forecast - tougher pumping reductions could start Tuesday, according to the aquifer authority.

Municipal utilities and agricultural and industrial users have had to cut their permitted use by 35 percent since April 10 when the EAA declared Stage III in the pool of the aquifer tapped by Bexar, Medina and portions of Comal, Guadalupe, Hays, Atascosa and Caldwell counties.

Despite facing more cuts in pumping from the Edwards, the San Antonio Water System plans to remain in what it calls Stage 2 drought restrictions, limiting landscape watering by customers to once per week during certain hours.

Other municipalities, such as Alamo Heights and New Braunfels, have already restricted customers' outdoor watering to one day every two weeks.

SAWS spokesman Greg Flores said conservation efforts and a more diversified supply, including water from the Carrizo Aquifer, are helping to keep SAWS in compliance with EAA restrictions.

Four years of drought have taken its toll on the Edwards, which is 13.4 feet lower than even a year ago. It has dropped almost 10 feet in the last two weeks.